Punjabi University's clone website creates flutter

Ravneet Singh

Patiala, October 25

A clone website of Punjabi University has surfaced, creating a flutter in official circles. This is not the first time that an attempt has been made to misuse cyberspace in the name of the university. Earlier too, a similar clone website had appeared in August 2019.

Link allows visitors to donate funds

A link on the clone website allows visitors to donate funds through an online payment link. Earlier too, a similar clone website had appeared in August 2019.

The parallel website’s domain name punjabiuniversity.co is similar to that of the original website of the university, punjabiuniveristy.ac.in.

A link on the clone website also allows visitors to donate funds through an online payment link.

A faculty member said: “This is a serious matter. The miscreants can malign the university’s image by misusing the website. The number of new enrolments has already fallen down in our university.”

Another faculty member said: “In August 2019 case, those running the clone website had even uploaded fake detailed mark sheets using the official format. The university had reported the matter to the crime branch of the police.

“This is not the only website that is misusing university-related information. There are websites that have copied the university’s information and are allowing unsuspecting visitors to register for various courses. Only the university administration can tell if it has permitted such websites to register students on its behalf, as same information is being misused by private universities to contact the applicants to lure them to their campuses,” said a faculty members.

Vice-Chancellor Arvind said the university would report the matter to the cybercrime cell.